He heard this: “All strong brands have a creative director with a strong vision. Cities need them too. And no, they’re not called mayors.”
What would the creative director for a city actually control? Logos? Signage? Street design? Planning reviews? Or just give his knowledges.
As Machiavelli put it, this is an axiom which never fails: That a prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice….Good counsels, whencesoever they come, are born of the wisdom of the prince, and not the wisdom of the prince from good counsels.
The input of the best creative director in the world would be wasted if the leadership doesn’t get it. Before seeking the best creative input, what is first needed is to cultivate an understanding of the importance of brand, strategy, and vision in municipal leaders.
The new 21st century competitive landscape demands more from leaders than ever before, and they have to grow beyond operational excellence and prudent financial management to having the skills such as brand vision that have traditionally been the hallmarks of the private sector. Only with that prerequisite in place does hiring a creative director or other expert make sense.
A “brand director” might be an organization; many cities have public-private downtown civic groups or convention-visitors bureaus that do or could effectively perform the function.
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